So, basically these are reverse engineered rules for the guts of BrikWars. That is, you can build (almost) everything in the stock rules with these ability rules and it comes out to the same cost (or one point more in some cases). You can also build other things that aren't in the rulebook but will still be balanced with the game...theoretically. These aren't playtested at all, but some messing around building things seems to come out to reasonable levels; a use rating 4+ flamethrower sounds about like a 10 CP weapon. The system is based off the math behind Hero System, which builds things in a way that allows base abilities to be modified for multiplicative costs.
I haven't played more than a game of QuikWars, but I have played a few other table top war games and a lot of RPGs, so I am familiar with 12 seconds of in-game combat taking 4 HOURS, and what makes a bad rule. So these shouldn't be too bad. In any case the idea behind this is building the special things in your army, not necessarily for every dude and weapon. Though, army wide bonuses against Undead enemies or the like can be pretty fun.
Final note: the power of Crankiness as a disadvantage has been nerfed because -1 to every die is pretty ridiculous; it is built here as -1 to every roll, which for a lot of things is about the same anyway.
Edit: Changed Use Rating minimum on Hard To Use to 2+ and rebuilt Shotty with No Skill Required.
Edit: Changed AOE costs and rebuilt Flamethrower and Shotty accordingly; fixed some typos; moved Combat Piloting and the two stock Multi adders to an Aptitudes section, which would be Skills if that wasn't so confusing.
Edit: Numerous typos. Changed Context to Circumstance and repriced it so it is less stupid. Changed Charges pricing scheme so it isn't so complicated, hard to balance, and woefully broken. Consequently rebuilt Hero and the Shotty.
Edit: altered Circumstance again; still not there, but better.
Edit: Resolved the Size interaction issue, removed Focus because the stock rules assume it anyway and it was a source of price inflation, halved most costs because of size interaction fix, clarified rounding procedure, added Sacrifice for RedShirting, fixed the price of Feat, fixed the Heroic Ego packaged deal mess, changed pricing on Charges with no recovery, changed Rarity level of Heroes and added a rarity level, and rebuilt all examples. Things all have come out to exact total stock costs this time; Launchers and their Projectiles are built differently but should just about come out the same. Also, Heroic Ego costs 4 CP instead of 3, but I can't see how you'd build the base mini for 8 CP in the first place, even by stock rules. The one rule that is not dissected is the -1 to cost for Heroes, which probably would push the package over to 3 CP territory, but the mini would cost 10 altogether.
Edit: Decoupled Creation/Weapon Size from costs. If you were to build a weapon with Stock amounts of dice for its size, then multiply the cost by the size, it would cost twice as much. For simplicity, just buy levels in an ability equal to its size. Head Mounted Naval Cannon has thus been repriced.
Added lots of intro material and better explanations, as well as an example of building a new ability that works with the system. Also added the Mod Duration, which changes how long an Ability takes to do. Removed the "Always" from Charges, as I realized that, mathematically, you could have used it to reduce costs by at least 1/3.
Edit: Imposed ability level max linked to Size, tweaked Charges costs for Never recovery rate, some typos, rebuilt cannon, added encumbrance to armor to make sure the price didn't change (it didn't)
Edit: Size is not a maximum for Central Structures, only Weapons. Completely changed the Charges pricing scheme to be simple to do in your head and make some more intuitive sense. Double-Tap Shotty example had vestigial Focus limitation so I removed that and repriced it. A few more typos.
Edit: Some Flaws in how I wrote up how Charges is now priced. That is fixed. Some description about pricing was fixed. Also, Variable Ability is now its own Ability Mod with options for Every Turn and Only at Beginning of game. Some more typos.
Edit: friendlier, more concise intro. Typos, Table of Contents errors, added all extant good examples so far, Variable Ability has better costs and rules.
Edit: Revamped Circumstance so it is nice, clean, easy to tweak for balance, and easy to calculate. That altered Specify Target as well. A few typos here and there, moved something in the intro, went over Heroic Ego a bunch of times with the new Circumstance prices, and it comes out well.
Edit: Removed short paragraph descriptions and replaced them with tables. The Telekinesis example is also moved to the end, where it makes more sense. Plus an explanatory intro with the "not for everything" business I had mentioned over in Rulebook but forgot to mention here. Few typos.
Edit: Altered Duration so it can also be used to change when an ability takes effect.
Code: Select all
--------
Overwatch
--------
-WHY BOTHER?-
I like the rules I use to be flexible while having the guts of the balance
mechanisms themselves exposed. BrikWars is great, damn near perfect within
itself. But what about all those things you might want? How do the rules
for what things do actually fit together on an atomic level?
Yeah, yeah: Fudge it. I know, and I would if I was inclined to fudge rules.
But I am not. Furthermore my "gaming crew" has some power players in it, and
Fudging things like a shotgun is just a recipe for a decidedly unfun run of a
game.
I am also fascinated by the mechanics behind table top rules, and find nice
systematic rulesets, well, cool. So I tried to see if I could reverse engineer
how the atomic rules of BrikWars interact and provide a cleaner way of adding
your own stuff. I think it worked, and as usual Hero System type pricing
does a good job of mitgating those cost-balancing gremlins known as flat values.
I am not suggesting anyone build a whole army rule for rule with this: I am
suggesting you use it to build one or two cool things for an army. The prices
are compatible, so for the droves of meat shields, just use the easier stuff in
the stock rules. But for that one cool thing you want your Hero to have, try
this stuff on for size and see what happens. There may be some discrepancy
concerning explosion costs, but there are <a href='http://tinyurl.com/y42zurt'>alot</a> of pricing effects going on there
and I haven't figured them all out just yet.
-ABILITIES-
Abilties represent a core rule of action for a creation. They're atomic
rules with no frills or anything terribly interesting in and of themselves.
They are purchased in levels of power, which are either 1/2d6 or a flat 2
units of effect. For instance, if you buy 1d6 of Attack, you bought 2
levels of Attack (1/2d6 collapse into full d6 and a remainder). There are
ways of switching Abilities between 1/2d6 and flat 2, but that is discussed
elsewhere.
You normally buy abilities with a positive cost; if you buy an ability that
works against you, such as a minus to movement, it costs negative CP; that is,
you get points back. In such cases, positive valued Ability Mods factor in
as Limitations and negative valued Ability Mods factor in as Advantages.
--Where do Use Ratings come from?--
The use rating of an ability is how many levels you bought in that Ability.
If you buy 2d6 of Attack, for instance, you bought 1/2d6 _four_ times, so the use
rating is 4+. The minimum default use rating is 2+; a 1/2d6 attack does NOT always
hit.
The stock rules are a little cumbersome and depend on what kind of attack
a weapon does.
-ABILITY MODS-
Abiltiy Mods are the flavor and spice you add to base Abilities. They either
make them more powerful (Advantages, which have a positive cost) or less powerful
(Limitations, which have a negative cost). The sign of the cost is there to
indicate whether or not an Ability Mod is a Limitation or Advantage; not how
to use them to modify a base Abilty's cost.
To use Ability Mods on an Ability, you multiply the initial cost of the Ability
by (1 + Sum of Advantages). Then divide that by (1 + sum of Limitations),
ignoring the negative signs.
-APTITUDES-
The Aptitudes are things that fall under the Skills category of game
mechanics; they have to do with actions and the like. No changes there,
just here for completeness. Though I have two ideas that might be very
useful.
-SIZE AND PRICING-
Size is decoupled from the power of an ability: the levels of
an ability are not tied to the size of a Creation or Weapon. Instead,
twice the size of a Weapon indicates the maximum levels of abilities
it can support (or how many full d6 it can support, if you want to look at
it that way).
You could, for instance, buy 4 levels of one ability and 2 levels of another for
a size 3 Weapon, but they must be in the same genre of Abilities. That means if
one is an Attack type Ability, the other must be as well.
In general, it is best to keep it simple and simply buy a number of levels equal
to 2xSize in one Ability. The size of the central structure of a creation factors
into things like Skill, but otherwise does not indicate any prefered base of
ability levels.
Note that a unit's natural armor is determined by its SL. You can at most double
the default value of natural armor and must pay full price for it.
--1/2D6!? What are you getting at?--
1/2d6 are one half of 1d6. That is, roll 1d6 and divide it by 2 and round or do
whatever you feel comfortable with. The rolling sixes rule still applies: any
6 that comes up on 1/2d6 gets you another roll of 1/2d6. The six still counted
as 3, though.
When you buy multiples of 1/2d6, just collapse them into full d6 and a remainder
of 1/2d6 if there is one. Like this: 7x1/2d6 = 3(1/2)d6. Is that statistically
the same thing? No, not at all, actually. Not as bad as it could be, but it
isn't the same.
Everyone has six sided die. Not everyone has Construction Toys. Far fewer have
other polyhedra for dice, and a ridiculously small percentage of people who have
other polyhedra have the esoteric d14s, d16s, and practically non-existant d18s.
Somewhere out there you can also dig up the absurdly useless but impressive d5s,
d7s, and d9s.
So I wrote this stuff with only d6 in mind, because they are arbitrarily scalable,
common, and statistically have built-in diminishing returns. Plus, Lego now sells
six-sider bricks to make your own with. Up to d10, they are all close enough
that you can switch out things.
Rough die equivalents:
1/2d6 ~ a flat 2
Stock on the left, this system on the right
1d6 = 1d6
1d8 ~ 1(1/2)d6
1d10 ~ 2d6
1d12 ~ 2(1/2)d6
So there is a little inflation in terms of power when you cross reference with stock
rules that use the other polyhedra.
---------
THE STUFF
---------
APTITUDES
---------
Combat Piloting
Multitasking
Multidexterity
+-----------+---------+--------+-----------------+------------------------------------------+
| ABILITY | Cost | Unit | Effect | Notes |
+-----------+---------+--------+-----------------+------------------------------------------+
| Armor | 0.5 | 1/2d6 | protection | |
| Attack | 1 | 1/2d6 | damage | |
| Feat | 10 | N/A | awesome | flat cost, no levels |
| Movement | 1, 2+SL | 2" | move | cost is type dependent |
| Roll Mod | Varies | 1 | alter stat/roll | cost varies with type of modification |
| Sacrifice | 6 | 1/2d6" | redshirting | inspire within Levels/2d6" |
| Skill | 1 | 1/2d6 | action test | only for central structures, cost x size |
+-----------+---------+--------+-----------------+------------------------------------------+
+---------------------+-----------+----------------------+---------------------------------------------+
| ABILITY MOD | Cost | Effect | Notes |
+---------------------+-----------+----------------------+---------------------------------------------+
| AOE | Base +1 | effect over area | options increase cost |
| Armor Piercing | +1/2 | halve target armor | only against appropriate armor |
| Awesome Fluff | -1/4 | encourage Fluff | you'd be stupid not to add some flavor text |
| Charges | Varies | limit uses | # Charges - Recovery Rate - 1 |
| Circumstance | Varies | limit activation | varies with Rarity and Effect |
| | | or power | |
| Does Knockback | +1/2 | toss enemies | use as a Limitation for over the top Recoil |
| Duration | +/-1/2 | change action length | Cost per change in Duration |
| Encumbrance | -1/4 | reduce speed | |
| Hardened | +1/4 | resist Armor | only against appropriate Armor Piercing |
| | | Piercing | attacks |
| Hard to Use | +/-1/4 | change Use Rating | cost per bonus/penalty; also prices for |
| | | | multiplying Use Ratings |
| Line of Sight | +/-1/2 | change awareness | |
| | | needed to target | |
| Range | +1/2 | increase range | cost per 3" of Range |
| Requires Skill | +/-1 | add/remove need for | |
| | | skill roll | |
| Specify Target Type | Varies | limit targets | same as Circumstance: Only Works costs |
| Use Offensively | +1 | meanness | only on something that wasn't offensive |
| Variable Ability | +1(1/4)xK | randomize ability's | first cost, roll K/2d6 per turn |
| | +1xK | power | second cost, roll K/2d6 for the game |
+---------------------+-----------+----------------------+---------------------------------------------+
---------
APTITUDES
---------
-COMBAT PILOTING-
Cost: 1 CP for being able to drive and chew gum at the same time
-MULTIDEXTERITY-
Cost: 1 CP for each extra offensive power the unit can use at the same time
on the same target.
-MULTITASKING-
Cost: 2 CP for each extra action the unit can take during the action phase
---------
ABILITIES
---------
-ARMOR-
Cost: 1/2 CP for 1/2d6
-ATTACK-
Cost: 1 CP for 1/2d6
-FEAT-
Cost: 10 CP for 1d6 towards doing a crazy Hollywood action stunt.
--Stock Rules--
You propose an off-the-wall, ludicrous stunt for the creation to do. An
opposing player claims Fail rights, and you both roll 1d6. Whoever wins
determines what actually happened.
--System Rules--
For each narative modifier you add +1d6 of Epic Dice to your Feat roll.
For each narative modifier the opposing player adds to their complementary
disaster version of the stunt, +1d6 FAIL dice.
-MOVEMENT-
Cost: 1 CP for 2", 2+SL for 2" flying.
Alternate Cost: 1+SL CP for 2", 2+SL for 2" flying
(more inline with the other rules)
-ROLL MOD-
Cost: Varies
Flat +/-1 to a specific roll or ability value. Cost is per the type of roll;
if you want to boost or penalize more than one type at the same time, just add
the costs together. The maximum you can boost a roll by is +/-5.
This is actually a quick referrence version of simply buying flat values in
abilities as Disadvantages or as additional Ability levels, with a few cost
tweaks to even things out. Bascially, a +1 or -1 in an ability costs 1/2
the normal level cost.
A cost is doubled if it applies to _every_ die.
+----------------------------+---------+
| Roll Type | Cost |
+----------------------------+---------+
| Feat | 2(1/2) |
| MOM, POP, or Attack | 1 |
| Move | 1/2 |
| Skill, Armor | 1/4 |
+----------------------------+---------+
-SACRIFICE-
Cost: 6 CP to inspire sacrifice of a unit 1/2d6" away
-SKILL-
Cost: 1/2 CP for 1/2d6 of Skill
1 CP for 1d6 of Skill
Multiply by Creation Size
-----------
ABILTY MODS
-----------
-AOE-
Cost: See Table
Buy Area of Effect rules for an ability. Base primary area of effect (PAE) is 2"
of radius or width, depending on the area type purchased. Full effect dice in the
PAE, remove the lowest die for each 1" further away after that.
Use AOE for explosions, lasers, shotguns, and flamethrowers.
+------------------------------+-------------+
| Element of AOE | Cost |
+------------------------------+-------------+
| Purchase AOE, base PAE of 2" | +1 |
| Line of length N x 3" | +(1/2 x N) |
| Circle | +1 |
|(N x 45) degree cone | +(1/8 x N) |
|(or largest finger cone you | |
| can make) | |
+------------------------------+-------------+
| +1" to PAE | +1 |
+------------------------------+-------------+
| -1" to PAE | -1/4 |
+------------------------------+-------------+
-ARMOR PIERCING-
Cost: +1/2 to halve target's appropriate protective power
Only half of target's protective ability applies; add up rolls first then
divide.
-AWESOME FLUFF-
Cost: -1/4 for being such a good con artist
Ability has a hilarious, jargon ridden, ingeniously modeled, or otherwise
worthy explanation.
-CHARGES-
Cost: Charges - Recovery + 1
Ability has a number of expendable uses, or charges. You specify how many
charges you want, then how often they are recovered. Recovery is done via
a 1d6 roll versus a chosen value every turn. If successful, all charges
are recovered. If not, nothing changes.
--To Buy--
Pick the number of Charges and the Recovery Roll you want. Subtract the
recovery roll from the number of charges then add 1. Never recovering
the charges counts as a recovery of 7+.
--Variant: Delayed Delivery--
Unit starts off the game without any charges in their stockpile but cannot
make a Recovery Roll on the first turn. To add this, subtract 1/2 from the
calculated cost.
--Variant: Bad Shipping--
Unit rolls 1d6 so see how many charges they have for the game; no recovery.
Cost of -3(1/2).
DO NOT use Charges to model Automatic Fire effects. For starters, you'd end
up with dice too puny to do damage for each bullet. Also, you'd have to roll
attack and damage for each bullet. There are much better rules for that and
they are much more fun.
Also, DO NOT use Charges too much or in a way you can't reasonably track. Equip
big or important things that aren't numerous with charges; they are easier to
remember. Heroes and artillery are good examples that you don't have many of
and people will easily remember stats of.
That said, we ARE using _construction_ toys here, so you can actually put the
rockets your dudes are using on them or on their base. Just be sparing with
Charges and make whatever ones you do use obvious to everyone playing.
-CIRCUMSTANCE-
Cost: See Table
Activation of Ability is dependent on a given circumstance. Choose a Rarity
Score for the circumstance you want based on how often you guess the circumstance
will happen. Then choose an effect and calculate the Ability Mod's cost
according to that effect's pricing scheme.
+--------------------------------------------+-------------+
| Rarity | Score(RAR) |
+--------------------------------------------+-------------+
| Is Very Common: a specific color (not | 1 |
| black), minifigs with helmets | |
| Is Common: mounted entities, tanks | 2 |
| Is Uncommon: aligators, cyborgs | 4 |
| Is Rare: Zombie Vampire Dogs | 8 |
| from Mars, Heroes | |
| Is Endangered: Brikthulids | 16 |
+--------------------------------------------+-------------+
| Effect | Cost |
+--------------------------------------------+-------------+
| Ability Only Works | -(RAR / 4) |
| Ability Doesn't Work | -(4 / RAR) |
| Ability switches from Flat to Random* | -(RAR / 4) |
| Ability switches from Random to Flat* | +(RAR / 4) |
| Count Based (instances of circumstance | +(4 / RAR) |
| multiplies ability, max 5 times) | |
+--------------------------------------------+-------------+
| *Purchase these effect with Very Common to simply switch |
| an ability between the two; costs +/-(1/4). |
+----------------------------------------------------------+
The cost schemes are simplified for ease of use; the actual formulae are:
+--------------------------------------------+-----------------+
| Effect | Cost |
+--------------------------------------------+-----------------+
| Ability Only Works | -(1/4 x RAR) |
| Ability Doesn't Work | -(1/4 x 16/RAR) |
| Ability switches from Flat to Random | -(1/4 x RAR) |
| Ability switches from Random to Flat | +(1/4 x RAR) |
| Count Based | +(4 / RAR) |
+--------------------------------------------+-----------------+
It is easier to see how they work this way and it is important to know if
you add your own pricing schemes. 16/RAR is the inverse of the Rarity Score,
used for Doesn't Work because if an ability doesn't work in extremely
common circumstances it is a much greater disadvantage than for rarer
circumstances.
-DOES KNOCKBACK-
Cost: +1/2 for 1/2d6 of MOM counted towards Knockback
Automatically induce a Knockback situation with the successful use of the
ability with however many d6 of MOM you bought. Defender gets POP according
to standard rules.
--Variant: Recoilless? GTFO!--
For each -1/2 of Limitation, 1/2d6 of MOM against the unit using the ability.
If their opposition fails, they go flying in the opposite direction of their
attack. Independent of successful hit.
-DURATION-
Cost: +/-1/2 for each level on the action scale
The ability takes more time or less time to perform than usual.
For each level towards a longer action, -1/2. For each level towards a shorter
action, +1/2.
+-------------+
| Action |
+-------------+
| Quick |
| Quick (-1") |
| Normal |
| Extended |
| Large |
+-------------+
You can also use Duration to set a timer on an ability: each turn more it takes to have
effect is -1/2.
-ENCUMBRANCE-
Cost: -1/4 for each -1" of movement the ability incurs by simply being equipped.
-HARDENED-
Cost: +1/4 to have full protective effect of ability versus appropriate Armor
Piercing ability
Protective ability still counts for full against attacks that use Armor Piercing.
-HARD TO USE-
Cost: +/-(1/4) for each -/+1 to Use Rating.
+/-1 for x1/2 / x2 of Use
Increase, or decrease, how hard it is to use the Ability by increasing or
decreasing the Use Rating. Only applies, of course, if the ability needs
a Skill Roll to use. The minimum use rating you can purchase for an ability
is 2+. Use Requires No Skill to remove skill rolls for the ability.
-LINE OF SIGHT-
Cost: +/- 1/2
If an ability doesn't need line of sight to be used, now it does for -1/2. If it
already does, NO IT DOESN'T because you just removed it for a +1/2 advantage.
-RANGE-
Cost: +1/2 for 3" of range
Change an ability to function on a ranged basis. +1/4 for 1/2d6" of Range instead.
-REQUIRES SKILL-
Cost: +/-1 to add/remove the need for a Skill roll to the ability
-SPECIFY TARGET TYPE-
Cost: See Table
Specify the category of entity that the ability can target.
+-----------------------------------------+--------+
| Target Type | Cost |
+-----------------------------------------+--------+
| Is Very Common: a specific color (not | -1/4 |
| black), minifigs with helmets | |
| Is Common: mounted entities, tanks | -1/2 |
| Is Uncommon: aligators, cyborgs | -1 |
| Is Rare: Zombie Vampire Dogs | -2 |
| from Mars, Heroes | |
| Is Endangered: Brikthulids | -4 |
+-----------------------------------------+--------+
| Extras | Mod |
+-----------------------------------------+--------+
| Applies only to Enemies or Allies | -1 |
| Includes Self | -1/4 |
+-----------------------------------------+--------+
The extras can be taken in addition to the other costs; taking
one alone is basically taking it with Very Common: everything.
This is really a quick referrence version of Circumstance, calculated for
"Ability Only Works" with two extras.
-USE OFFENSIVELY-
Cost: +1 to use a usually non-offensive ability as an offensive one
For use with things like Roll Mod, so you can alter other unit stats instead of your
own. When a non-offensive ability becomes offensive, it then requires a skill
roll to use and by default can only target enemies within Line of Sight.
For any ability your army has equipped that is used in this manner, your must
inform your enemies and allow them to buy armor effective against your attack.
Each level of that armor costs one half the cost of a level in your attack.
-VARIABLE ABILITY-
Cost: +(1(1/4) x K) for (Kx1/2)d6 times the levels in the Ability every turn
+(1 x K) for rolling at the begining of the game for the whole game
Roll (Kx1/2)d6 to see how many levels in the ability you have this turn.
-------------------------------
EXAMPLES: BUILDING STOCK THINGS
-------------------------------
-STOCK MINIFIG-
A minifig is a Size 1, SL 0 Creation. That means it has a default of 1d6 natural armor.
The base cost of this is 0.5 CP.
5" of movement costs 2.5 CP.
A base Skill roll of 1d6 costs 1 CP.
So, a basic minifig costs 0.5 + 1 + 2.5 = 4 CP.
-STOCK HERO-
Still a minifig, but 2d6 natural armor, so +1 and thus a base cost of 1.5.
We want 2d6 of skill, which costs 2 CP.
7" of movement costs 3.5 CP.
Package: Heroic Ego
Heroes have the Feat ability (base 10), accompanied by a very grandiose and awesome
explanation (Awesome Fluff, -1/4), but must use it according to their Cliche
(Circumstance, Uncommon: Cliched, -1) so 4.4 ~ 4 CP (10/2.25).
Heroes can RedShirt other units 1d6" away (1d6 Sacrifice, base 12), the awesome description
gets -1/4, so 9.6 ~ 10 CP (12/1.25)
Heroes also get cranky when there are other heroes in their army for a cumulative -1
to all dice per competing hero. You build this as a Disadvantage.
First, the base Ability:
Roll Mod:
-1 to Feat(2.5), Skill(1/4), Armor(1/4), MOM(1),
POP(1), and Attack(1)
Per die (x2)
Total Base Cost: 12
Circumstance:
Count Based,
Rare:Heroes (+1/2),
Total Circumstance Cost: +1/2
Awesome Fluff (-1/4)
Now, this is a Disadvantage, so Advantages factor in as Limitations
and vice versa:
(12 * 1.25)/1.5 = 10
Final Roll Mod Cost: -10 CP
Package Cost: 4 CP
So, the final cost for a hero is 1.5 + 2 + 3.5 + 4 = 11 CP.
------------------------------
Now, for some Stock Equipment:
------------------------------
Hand Weapon:
Attack: 1d6 (2)
Cost: 2 CP
Heavy Weapon:
Attack: 1(1/2)d6 (3)
Hard To Use: +1 Use (-1/2)
Cost: 3 CP
Short Ranged Weapon:
Attack: 1d6 (2)
Range: 6" (+1)
Hard to Use: +1 Use (-1/2)
Cost: (2 x (1+1)) / (1+1/2) = 3 CP
Body Armor:
Armor:+2 (1)
Encumbrance: -1" (-1/4)
Cost: .8 ~ 1 CP
-------------------------------------
Now, for some not so stock equipment:
-------------------------------------
---------------------
Packaged Deal: Suicide Bomber
Suicide Bomb:
Attack: 1/2d6 (1)
AOE: Circle, 4" PAE (+4)
Specify Target: Includes Self (-1/4)
Variable Ability: 1d6, for the Game (+2)
Armor Piercing (+1)
Cost: 6.4 ~ 6 CP
Improvised Armor:
Armor: 1/2d6 (0.5)
Variable Ability: 1d6, for the Game (+2)
Random to Flat (+1/4)
(That is, increments of 2 Armor instead of 1/2d6)
Cost: 1.625 ~ 2 CP
Package Cost: 8 CP
---------------------
Brikomancy:
Telekinesis: 1d6 (4)
AOE: Circle (+2)
Duration: Quick (-1") (+1/2)
Circumstance: Common: Only To Build (-1/2)
Cost: 9.3 ~ 9 CP
The Brikomancers can summon the arkane forces of Ther-Moset, the god of Palastiks,
to assemble raw bricks into walls and light constructions in only a turn.
---------------------
Flamethrower:
Attack: 1(1/2)d6 (3)
AOE: 6" Line, 1" width (+1(3/4))
Hard to Use: +1 Use (-1/4)
Cost: (3 x 2.75) / (1 + 1/4) = 6.6 ~ 7 CP
---------------------
Head Mounted Naval Cannon:
Attack: 2d6 (4)
Range: 12" (+2)
Awesome Fluff: It's a Minifig with a CANNON ON ITS HEAD! (-1/4)
Hard to Use: +2 Use (-1/2)
Recoilless?GTFO!: 1(1/2)d6 MOM (-1(1/2))
Cost: ((4 x 3) / 3.25) 3.7 ~ 4 CP
---------------------
Double-Tap Shotty:
Attack: 1d6 (2)
AOE: 45 cone (+1(1/8))
Requires No Skill (+1)
(Its like shootin' zombies on a table!...oh, wait!)
Charges: 2@3+ (0)
Cost: (2 x 3.125) = 6.25 CP ~ 6 CP
--------------------
ADDING TO THE SYSTEM
--------------------
The idea of this rehash of the BrikWars stock rules is to put the same cost mechanisms
in place (or as close as I can possibly get) while putting it all in a format that is
easier to extend and have a sense of the cost. Thus, area of effect is a template you
add to any power instead of a type of attack with its own set-apart rules. More
complex sets of rules, like those for Heroic Ego, are composed of multiple parts that
you can see laid out instead of stuck together as one unit.
-Adding Ability Mods-
Because of the Ability Mods, you can price the majority of special tweaks to abilities
by estimating how much more powerful it would make an ability. For instance, if you
guess that a new Mod you created would double the power of an ability, then the cost of
the Mod should be +1, since you will multiply the ability's cost by (1 + sum of Advantages).
-Adding Abilities-
Abilities represent basic, atomic rules for something a Creation can do. For that reason,
you should pare down new abilities to their bare essentials before pricing them. Also, one
level in the ability should be in line with the elements of one level in the other abilities.
That means that if the ability relies on dice, it should be in units of 1/2d6. If it has
flat values, it should be in units of 2.
This kind of internal consistency is what makes the slightly more complicated pricing
system tennable: all you need to consider is the level cost and whether or not it uses
dice or flat values. Furthermore, you get a direct sense of how powerful abilties are
in relation to each other because the amount of dice or points they buy are the same.
Keep in mind that Range is built soley as an Advantage; you can't sell off range,so
abilities with a built-in fixed range are a generally bad idea. They won't mesh with
the rest of the rules. Thus, any ability that interacts with other creations is assumed
to require direct proximity with the target; you can fudge this to 1" if it makes sense.
Use your judgement here; in the following example the ability has some range built into
it, but that range is part of the cost itself and works differently than plain old range.
Finally, try to build abilities that only need 1 or 2 rolls to use, preferably the former.
Let's look at an example.
--What You Want--
You want to add Telekinesis as an ability. Your basic idea is your mini makes some roll
against an object's size and that determines if they can lift it telekinetically and how
far they can move it this turn. Telekinesis is its own thing, so you'd rather not need a
skill roll, which shaves off a roll from the rules. Also, you need a way for the mini to
accidentally drop things, since that can only lead to fun.
--What You Don't Need--
Think about what you don't need to build into the ability. You don't need a way to determine
how to lift a bunch of objects; you can use the AOE advantage for that. You don't need
to specify when the ability can be used; you can use Circumstance for that. The rules for
the damage done by thrown objects are already written, so you don't need to write them.
--Things to Consider--
Compare the ability to other rules to get a sense of how to write and price it.
All the interaction abilities work on a proximity basis, so you can't build range into this
ability on a base level. That means that it only applies to objects within 1".
So, for each level of Telekinesis, you get 1/2d6 of Telekinetic dice. You pick an object
next to your mini, measure it, and make your Telekinetic roll. If the roll is more than the
size of the object, however much you beat that size by is how many inches you can move the
object this turn. If it is just equal to it, then the mini has succeeded in lifting the
object and nothing more. The mini must do this for every turn they want to keep the object
suspended. The action of doing so counts as their action for the turn.
The price for each level: the advantage of the ability lies in the fact that the Mini
doesn't need a free hand to pick things up, and can throw things around a fair distance
after only a few levels and remain in control of that distance and direction. The rules
for hitting things with other things are associated with Charge, so there is an element of
Movement in the ability. Also, Attack levels are 1 CP per level, and the ability has a
randomized element of Range which would be a +1/2 advantage. The picking up roll is similar
to Skill, and that costs 1/2 CP per level. Telekinesis should be much more expensive.
Consider it statistically: 1/2d6 has an expected value of 2, so you can reasonably expect to
be able to move size 1 objects 1" to 2", but you will be in control of the throw.
Taken all together, a price of 2 CP per level is reasonable. You can use Range to increase
the distance you can pick up objects from.
--TELEKINESIS--
Cost: 2 CP for 1/2d6 Lift/Throw/Move
To pick up an object in your immediate proximity, roll your Telekinesis dice. For each
point you beat the size of the object by, you can move it 1" this turn. If you equal the
size, then you just manage to lift it. You must roll each turn to maintain the Telekinetic
control and not drop the object. The roll and the movement of the object count as a Normal
Action.